Card tray cabinet



March 1, 1938. J. R. CLARK ET AL CARD TRAY CABINET File'd Oct. 15, 1935 fig. 3

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INVEN rQR BY /9 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 1, 1938 "UNITED STATES 2 can!) my canmn'r James R. Clark and Clifford G. Burleigh, Rochester, N. Y., assignors to Yawman & Erbe Mfg.

00., Rochester York N. Y., a corporation of New Application October 15, 1935, Serial No. 45,642

4 Claims.

This invention relates to cabinets and more fiirticularly to cabinets for card trays and the e. In former card tray cabinets, it has been'proposed to provide a handle on the front face of each card tray-but such an array of handles is not only expensive but unsightly. Furthermore,

of the latches for the trays are necessarily spaced from the related handles so that it is awkward to remove the lower trays from the cabinet. In

addition such a tray cannot be carried in one hand without spilling the cards therefrom. The present invention has for itspurpose a card tray cabinet which is attractive in appearance and which can be manufactured at reduced cost and which. has its latch releasing means conveniently located. The trays of this cabinet can be easily carried without spilling the contents.

The various features and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description and claims when taken with the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred,

form of the card tray cabinet of this invention illustrating one card tray slide in its fully withdrawn position and with one of the card trays removed from the slide; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of a catch and latch mechanism for locking a tray slide in the cabinet; Fig. 3 is a side view' partially in section of a tray slide and tray, with the tray catch depressing the spring latch prior to latching; Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the tray latched on the tray slide; Fig. 5 is a like view showing the front of the'tray elevated with respect to the tray slide so that its catch is disengaged from the latch; Fig. 6 is a. vertical section of a fragment of a tray taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and Fig. '7 is a vertical section of a tray taken on the line of Fig. 1 illustrating the mounting of the extensible handle.

Referring especially to Fig. 1, 5 generally designates a cabinet which is open at its front and which has a top 6 and sides 1. A plurality of tray slides 8, each adapted to carry a group of trays 9, are mounted in any preferred manner for sliding movement into and withdrawal from the cabinet. These slides with the trays thereon close the front of the cabinet. As herein illus- 5 trated each tray slide is carried at its opposite sides on rollers (not shown) of extensible supports ll of well-known construction so that the trays thereon can be withdrawn free from the cabinet. Each tray slide is preferably provided with side rails i2 to engage the exposed sides of and positioned beneath each tray slide.

. slide, is provided intermediate of its side edges. 5

with a handle i3 by which the slide with its trays can be withdrawn from the cabinet. Each in such cabinets, the releasing buttons or knobs tray slide is held in its closed position by any well-known type of spring latch mechanism. As herein illustrated the'latching mechanism com- 10 prises a catch I I 5 projecting forwardly from a reinforcing cross strip l6 carriedv by the cabinet Thetray slide itself, has mounted thereon for limited lengthwise movement, a bar II which is pro- 15 vided with a projecting latch l8 adapted to engage a notch in the catch IS. The bar and its latch are normally urged toward the left-by a coil spring l9 having one end attached to a fixed part of the tray slide and its other end attached to 20 an ear on the right hand end of the bar H, as

' viewed in Fig. 2. A' latch releasing. button 20 secured to the left end of the bar I! projects through a slot in the front of the tray slide adjacent the handle so that the operator while 25 grasping the handle with one hand can simultanously move the latch releasing button 20 toward the right with the thumb of the same hand,

to disengage the latch from its catch.

Each group of trays is locked on its tray slides 30 on a leafspring bent intermediate its ends to form a latch 22. One end of the leaf spring is 40 welded or otherwise fastened to the channeland its'other end projects through an opening in the channel so that the latch can be readily depressed when a tray is forced rearwardly on-the slide. Thesides of the trays are provided with catches 25 adapted to engage their related leaf spring latch 22 when these trays are in their normal position on the slide.

It will be noted that the front face of each card tray is free from any handle but instead an extensible handle 26 is mounted within the tray at the front thereof. This handle is U-shaped and its arms 21 extend through pairs of alined apertures in a channel-shaped strip 29 welded to the inner front wall of the tray, the lower ends of u the arms 21 being enlarged as indicated at 30, to detached from the tray slide after the slide is prevent their complete withdrawal from the channel bar.

In using the cabinet any one of the tray slides may be withdrawn by means of the handle ll after its latch button 20 has been moved to the right to disengage the latch I! from the catch l5. When the slide has been partially or completely withdrawn any one of the trays thereon may be disengaged therefrom. In removing a tray from the slide, the handle 21 is elevated to the position shown in Fig. 1 so that it can be engaged by the operator's fingers. It is then merely necessary to slightly raise the front end of the tray unit until the catch 25 disengages the spring latch 22. It should be mentioned that this handle is so mounted that its tray can be carried in one hand, the rear end of the tray extending downwardly toward the floor but inclined at such an angle that the cards cannot fall from the tray. When it is desired to replace a tray on the slide, the tray is merely forced back on the slide until the catch 25 engages the spring latch 22. The tray slide with the trays thereon can be either in the closed or open position, when a tray is replaced thereon if it is in the open position, it is then pushed into the cabinet where it is retained by the latching mechanism.

By this construction it is only possible to remove the tray from the slide when the slide is in its partially or fully extended position, since when the slide with the trays thereon is in closed position, it is impossible to elevate the front of the tray to disengage the catch 25 on the trays from the latch 22. In the cabinet of the present invention, the handles on the trays are concealed, and a single handle on each tray slide with a single latch releasing button conveniently located with respect thereto, eflects the withdrawal from the cabinet of this slide and its group of trays.

What we claim is:

1. In a structure of the class described, a cabinet open at its front, a plurality of open front tray slides mounted in spaced relation for movement into and withdrawal from said cabinet, latch mechanism individual to each slide for locking the same in the cabinet, a handle for each slide, latch mechanism releasing means adjacent each handle, a plurality of trays detachably carried on each tray slide, the fronts of which trays normally close the open front of their slide, the front face of each tray being without a handle, a concealed handle mounted on the inner front wall of the tray, latching means mounted on each slide, and a catch on a side of each of said plurality of trays for engaging said latching means whereby said tray cannot be removed from the slide while it is within the cabinet, but can be partially withdrawn from the cabinet.

2. In a structure of the class described, a cabinet open at its front, a plurality of open front tray slides mounted in spaced relation for movement into and withdrawal from said cabinet, latch mechanism individual to each slide for locking the same in the cabinet, a handle for each slide, latch mechanism releasing means adjacent each handle, a plurality of, trays detachably carried on each tray slide, the fronts of which trays normally close the open front of their slide, the front face of each tray being without a handle, a te escoping handle mounted just to the rear of the front wall of the tray, latching means mounted on each slide, and a catch on a side of each of said plurality of trays for engaging said latching means whereby said tray cannot be removed from the slide while it is within the cabinet, but can be detached from the tray slide after the slide is partially withdrawn from the cabinet.

3. In a structure .of the class described, a cabinet open at its front, a plurality of open front tray slides mounted in spaced relation for movement into and withdrawal from said cabinet, latch mechanism individual to each slide for locking the same in the cabinet, a handle for each slide, latch mechanism releasing means on each slide adjacent its handle and in horizontal alinement therewith, a plurality of trays detachably carried by each tray slide, the fronts of which trays normally close the open front of their slide, a concealed handle at the rear of each tray front whereby said fronts are free from normally exposed handles, latching means mounted on each slide, and a catch on each of said plurality of trays for engaging said latching means whereby said trays cannot be removed from the tray slide until after it is partially withdrawn from the cabinet.

4. In a structure of the class described, a cabinet open at its front, a tray slide mounted for movement into and withdrawal from said cabinet, a. latch mechanism for locking the slide in the cabinet, a handle on said slide, latch mechanism releasing means on the slide adjacent said handle, a plurality of trays detachably carried by the tray slide with adjacent side walls of the trays in spaced relation, the fronts of the trays normally closing the open front of the slide, a resilient latch mounted on said slide in the space between adjacent sidewalls of the trays, a catch projecting from the side of each tray adjacent said resilient latch for engagement therewith, whereby said trays cannot be removed from the tray slide until it is partially withdrawn from the cabinet.

JAMES R. CLARK. CLIFFORD G. BURLEIGH. 

